Search engines are continuously being adapted to provide relevant information to users responsive to receipt of a query. For example, a search engine results page (SERP) displayed by a conventional search engine to an issuer of a query includes more information than a list of web page titles and snippets retrieved therefrom. For popular topics, such as, weather, movies, and definitions, some search engines have added custom interfaces with direct results; for instance, a search engine can provide the answer of “77 degrees, partly cloudy” to a user who issues the query “weather in Los Angeles,” wherein such answer is displayed inline with web page titles and corresponding snippets. These types of answers that can be provided to users of a search engine are known as direct answers, and allow searchers to satisfy an information need without having to click through to a web page. Direct answers have a measurable impact on user behavior with respect to SERPs, and oftentimes a user will repeatedly seek direct answers of certain types once such user realizes that the search engine can provide the direct answers.
Further, some people have turned to social networking applications to obtain answers to respective information needs. A user of a social networking application can submit a question to a public or private feed in hopes that someone (e.g., a contact of the user) will provide an answer to the question. Oftentimes, however, the issuer of the question receives little or no feedback, causing the information need of the user to remain unsatisfied.